Chapter 6: The Spring of Seventeen (4)
TL: Jonny16
The world changed by 5% as victory and defeat were reversed. Thus, tomorrow changed by 5%.
━ Nameless chronicler
[World Line Fixation: ▲5%].
[One peak of 『Four Seasons』 blooms.]
[Winter occurs.]
Pshhht━.
Lightning boils over his spine, just as when he first held ‘Winter’.
A thunderbolt flies across a pure white, snowy plain.
The absolute lightning granted to the master of ‘Winter’!
Neither Philip nor Abel noticed Cain transforming from head to toe.
“Tsk tsk.”
Philip clicked his tongue at Abel.
Because he had overturned the board he had set up, admitting defeat.
“I did lie, after all.”
Cain let go of his grip, and Abel stood face-to-face with him.
Swish━.
Abel gazed at him with piercing eyes.
But Philip lifted his chin high and remarked,
“In any event, individuals cursed by witches cannot survive. Consider that your mother is no longer alive.
Abel tightened both fists.
He appeared to be forcibly restraining his mounting anger.
“It was Ross Marquis who contacted you and your mother, who were suffering in the Elven Forest. If you only keep doing what you’re instructed to do for a little longer, you’ll be able to earn money and power that you’ve never had before in your life.”
“Shut up━!”
Abel shouted.
He had no need for wealth or power.
Abel’s entire universe revolved around his mother, Arna, who had survived the witches’ curse and the elves’ persecution to give birth and nurture him.
The persuasion had failed.
Philip shook his head, calmly expressing his typical sentiments.
“That’s why lowborn blood…….”
That moment.
“The fox cub of Ross dares.”
Cain cursed Philip, as if he were about to chew him up.
Philip widened his eyes and tilted his head toward Cain.
Whoooosh━.
Simultaneously, the velocity that Philip had been restraining with the smoke curtain was pushed aside.
Cain’s momentum fills the vacuum.
“You dare to insult my brother as lowborn, without knowing your place.”
Cain’s purple eyes sparked with intense electricity, and Philip instinctively took a step back.
Rumble━.
Thunder roared.
No, it was the roar of ‘Winter’ that shook Cain’s nerves and muscles!
Philip and Cain.
The raindrops began to sway in the momentum the two of them raised.
Philip’s eyes enlarged, as if they were going to burst.
“Aura……..!”
Expert Knight.
A qualification for wielding power that is beyond human capabilities.
The image of knights as slaughterers of the battlefield’ begins with experts.
Such professionals are differentiated by their ability to manifest auras.
Right now.
A pure white aura was growing all over Cain’s body. Cain also showed that he was an expert knight.
Philip blinked at the unbelievable sight.
However, the aura that spread like sparks all over Cain’s body remained.
“You cannot, Master Cain!”
Cloyd, the commander, shouted.
He never dreamed Cain would awaken his aura.
He finally understood why Cain was different today and had been acting differently.
Nonetheless, he was only a beginner who had recently awakened.
Philip, who had already developed expertise and aptitude, would never be defeated.
“You must endure!”
Cain pointed his finger at Cloyd. Then he gave a hand motion in a raspy voice and said,
“I said there would be no next time.”
“Philip is an opponent that Young Master cannot beat!”
“Because those who can win will not move, I must move. Isn’t that right?”
“T, That’s……”
Cloyd couldn’t speak any further.
Cain’s dazzling purple eyes studied the Ethelred knights one by one.
They simply bent their heads and quickly avoided his eyes.
“Think about that, Ethelred’s Knights. Since when did knights only fight battles that they could win?”
“……!”
“When did you start deciding where to fight?”
A peculiar vibration radiated out.
It was something that made the knights’ hearts race. They had been living comfortably in Ethelred, the countryside of the countryside, since Edmund’s disappearance.
Cain continued speaking as they prepared to move one by one.
“Do not be moved simply because I said something touching. Because I feel like I’m about to kill you and that fox cub together.”
“Young Master!””
Cloyd, the commander, was stunned by Cain’s harsh words and responded.
“Cloyd. This is the next one. You’re a sinner too, so shut up.”
Philip observed the situation, which was strangely turning around, and then added a word, as if he understood Cain’s intentions.
“Is this the sin of incompetence?”
Cain frowned.
Unlike the knights of Ethelred who were puzzled, as if they did not understand.
“The enemy knows better; they know better.”
Because Philip saw it first.
The distance from Cain was seven steps.
He stretched his legs apart.
He dropped his center of mass, measured the distance, and grabbed the blade around his waist.
“I felt Edmund’s brat was overly gentle, but… you were hiding some sharp teeth after all.”
Philip grinned slightly.
Like Commander Cloyd said, he was confident of his victory.
“Everybody lives with a sword in their heart. My sword is a little bigger.”
Cain of the past would have backed down, as Philip had predicted.
Even if the situation worsened, he expected the Ethelred knights to rush to his help when it counted the most.
No, he’d expected it.
However, the soul aged and grizzled Cain now knows for certain.
‘I only have Vanderbilt.’
They turned their heads away.
They preferred a pleasant present over justice.
Cain, who had been completely abandoned, stopped trusting anyone and moved.
“Heh heh, I really dig that. So.”
Swish━.
Philip pulled his swords.
Anticipation streamed out in waves, and the crimson aura that had encircled him shifted slightly toward the blade.
“Since the situation has become so messed up, I must achieve my original goal.”
Cain raised one side of his mouth and laughed, as if it were humorous.
“Step back, Abel.”
Abel, who was standing between the two, was now an obstacle.
Cain signaled Cloyd to take Abel away as if he were a nuisance.
“Young Master!”
Cloyd attempted to dissuade Cain.
But Cain ignored him and instead focused on the only knight behind him.
The aging knight.
He was past his prime and only had death ahead of him, yet he was a knight whose flame grew stronger as he aged!
“Knight Vanderbilt!”
Cain yelled out.
The spark that had been raging in his chest for decades finally burst out.
“Yes, My Lord!”
“Sword.”
Thud, thud━.
The raindrops became heavier.
The elderly knight bravely drew his 2-meter greatsword through the rain, grasped it in both hands, and approached Cain.
Thud.
He kneeled on one knee.
An offering to the one he dedicates all his loyalty to.
“Can you even lift it?”
Philip laughed at them.
Vanderbilt’s physique was the most imposing among Ethelred’s knights, despite his advanced age.
Cain was likewise on the slim side, having mainly practiced swordsmanship.
“Hey, fox cub.”
‘Winter’ rises.
Electricity constantly burns and regenerates Cain’s body.
Everyone who masters the 〈Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons〉 undergoes this ordeal, which can feel like torment.
Cain smiled gently, despite the discomfort, and swept his head back.
“If you don’t want that pretty tongue cut off, clench your teeth.”
Cain held the elderly knight’s greatsword casually in one hand.
Clang━!
Electricity with electricity.
At that very moment, lightning hit the greatsword.
It was huge and heavy, yet well-balanced, resulting in minimal wasted power. The Vanderbilt greatsword suited perfectly in the hand.
‘A blade that has accompanied the elderly knight throughout his life.’
Nothing is more dazzling than knowing that someone’s entire existence is contained within it.
Crash━.
Cain clutched the handle of the great sword with both hands.
‘I will not lose anymore.’
Cain, who had lost, been robbed, and regretted his actions, no longer exists.
A warrior with many regrets raised his greatsword.
Rumble━.
The weather at sea grew considerably more chaotic.
The training ground, built on the cliff by the sea, faced such weather.
The raindrops became heavier.
Thunder and lightning silenced the ears.
But nobody moved.
Abel retreated on his own, accompanied by Cloyd, to avoid interfering with Philip and Cain’s conflict.
Boom━!
Lightning struck.
Raindrops streamed down Philip’s brow indefinitely.
He was secretly pleased that it was raining.
His cold sweat was among the things that flowed down.
He focused his attention without blinking, and he gazed at Cain.
Monster.
Only until he confronted Cain did he comprehend how hard Abel battled.
Behind Cain, the boundless sea stretched out.
Philip now felt like a swordsman facing the great sea rather than a youthful successor to a rural estate.
Whoosh━!
The sea wind grew stronger during the storm.
Nevertheless, the two of them remained stationary.
The knights clinched their fists, aware of the furious struggle raging between the two opposing forces.
“Where’s Philip, who was so quick to wag his tongue?”
Cain was the first to break the impasse.
Swish━.
He took a modest step forward.
Thud━.
In contrast, Philip automatically took a step back.
It was evident who had won the momentum fight.
Philip frowned.
He never anticipated Cain, who was just seventeen, to urge him like this.
“Your provocations are excellent.”
“Really? But Sir Philip isn’t the type of person to fall for something so simple, is he?”
Cain continued to mock him.
The other knights of 〈Los de Kaerot〉, who had been holding back their excitement, became even more enthusiastic.
“Deputy Commander, educate this country mouse what an expert is!”
An insult against Cain.
“Show this arrogant brat who does not understand the ways of the world what it tastes like!”
Their attitude of looking down on all of Ethelred.
At the same moment, Cain’s mouth moistened.
‘The knights of Ross Marquis are unquestionably superior in terms of spirit.’
As knights, they understand that the words they speak are extremely nasty and improper.
However, they readily overlook such details in order to secure Philip’s win and benefit the marquis’ family.
They were on a different level than Ethelred, who only knew how to behave themselves.
Edmund was ultimately responsible.
‘Father was overly strong.’
The kingdom’s most powerful swordsman.
Even if he went to the continent, he would rank among the top 10 knights.
The Ethelred Knights were just a backdrop to glorify Edmund, the protagonist.
Edmund, who had never drawn his sword on his own volition, was gone, so this sloppy appearance would be more appropriate.
And right now.
Cain had gone back to such an Ethelred.
“You’re quite brash for someone with a pierced mouth.”
The surroundings became quieter.
Cain opened his mouth again, with only the blood, the waves, and the thunder making noise.
“Don’t expect to keep your head attached if you’re going to talk like that on Ethelred’s land.”
A frigid silence fell.
At that point, everyone recognized who Cain’s adversary was.
This moment, Abel and Philip, but in the distant future, 〈Los de Kaerot〉 and all of Ethelred, who had turned a blind eye,.
In this training ground, there was only one person on Cain’s side, the elderly knight Vanderbilt.
“You have come alone into enemy territory.”
Philip took his evaluation of Cain a step further.
It was difficult to guess the boy’s thoughts after walking into an area full of foes.
“Since you came to greet me, I had to come.”
“……!”
Philip eventually remembered the knights Cain described when he first talked.
However, since this operation’s area was the Ethelred territory, he had used three ordinary knights from Ethelred.
They were useless junk that he would never have picked up in the first place.
Nonetheless, because he had given them orders, he had only paid as much attention as was required.
But they didn’t come together.
They should have come, even if they were late, but they had not shown up.
Philip felt an uneasy feeling.
“What happened to them?”
Cain was able to use aura……
“Well, they went to a good place first.”
“……Surely not?”
Philip seems to know.
Clang━!
Cain, with a murderous smile, answered in the white light of lightning.
“Our Sir Philip will be going there soon as well.”